June 5, 2009

Work sent me down to Virginia City to do some shooting. The time in the old town was fun and I was able to produce the images we needed (better than expected). They are online here.

The real joy of the trip for me however was that after a long night on the 29th, followed by a long drive, I got to spend the morning in Yellowstone before heading back to Billings for some prior engagements.

The 29th/30th ended with my head hitting the pillow at 1:30 am. The alarm went off at 4:30 am, time to get into the park. By 5:15 am I had spotted a lone grey Wolf at Blacktail Ponds, he was shortly joined by a collared black Wolf. The two of them proceeded to pull a young Bison out of the pond, I have no clue how long he had been dead for. I sat in my car shooting from a bean bag while they went to worked on breakfast. For the first 15 minuets not a single car stopped :) Then the crowds began to amass as the sun filled the valley. As a bus pulled in I pulled out. Heading to check on the regular Great Grey Owl, who had already given his morning show. Came across a few black Bears, one of which was in a somewhat photogenic scene. I fired off a few bursts and headed on to the top of Dunraven pass to look for the Dusky Blue Grouse. Found two, that after a very short battle became one. Enjoyed some shooting of the victor then it was time to move on toward the East entrance. I gave the Fox den a short wait while I took a much need nap, no luck. Then it was back to Billings via Cody.

I will not complain about the extra driving that accompanied my short day trip to YNP. I went 140 miles more than I would have just doing the drive for work, and I got some nice images as a reward, well worth it in my book.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Dave is the Director of Communications for Volunteers of America - Northern Rockies. Raised in the western suburbs of Chicago, IL, he moved to the west when he was 20-years-old, and he “is never looking back.” Dave has two passions, one for the outdoors and one for photography. To this end, he spends much of his time in the ecosystems in and around Yellowstone National Park. This gives him a perspective on the wildlife and the ecosystem that few have. Dave is also an adjunct faculty member at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT, where he teaches middle- and upper-division photography courses. Working as photographer, Dave’s assignments include everything from commercial work and journalism, to wildlife and landscape photography. His extensive time in the field shows through in online galleries which are loaded with images of the fragile places he travels to. His work can be viewed at www.DaveShumway.com.